2019 Software

Top Basel ERP Software

Basel Compliance

Basel is a set of international banking regulations put forth by the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision, which set out the minimum capital requirements of financial institutions with the goal of minimizing credit risk. Banks that operate internationally are required to maintain a minimum amount (8%) of capital based on a percent of risk-weighted assets.

Basel II sets up risk and capital management regulations to ensure that banks holds capital reserves appropriate to the risk the bank exposes itself to through lending and investment practices. Basel rules mean that the greater risk the bank is exposed to, the greater the capital needed to safeguard bank solvency and overall economic stability. Basel II is a 3-pillar concept with each pillar targeting different types of risk.

Basel I Accord: Credit Risk Categories

Basel I (aka Basel 1) created a bank asset classification system and focuses on credit risk. This classification system groups banks assets in five risk categories. Banks must maintain Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital equal to a minimum of 8% of risk-weighted assets.

1. Cash, central bank and government debt and any OECD government deb - 0%

Basel II Accord: 3 Pillar Framework

Basel II is the second of the Basel Accords, which are banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The purpose of Basel II, which was initially published in June 2004, is to create an international standard that banking regulators can use when creating regulations about how much capital banks need to put aside to guard against the types of financial and operational risks banks face.

Unlike Basel I, where focus was mainly on credit risk, Basel II creates standards and regulations on how much capital banks must have put aside. Banks need store capital to reduce the risks associated with investing and lending practices. Basel II is built on a three-pillar system.

Pillar 1: Minimum Capital Requirements

The first pillar deals with maintenance of regulatory capital calculated for three major components of risk that a bank faces: credit risk, operational risk, and market risk. Minimum capital requirements are:

Tier 1 capital ratio - 4% Core Tier 1 capital ratio - 2%

The difference between the total capital requirement of 8.0% and the Tier 1 requirement can be met with Tier 2 capital.

Pillar 2: Supervisory Review Process

The second pillar deals with the regulatory response to the first pillar, giving regulators much improved 'tools' over those available to them under Basel I. It also provides a framework for dealing with all the other risks a bank may face, such as systemic risk, pension risk, concentration risk, strategic risk, reputational risk, liquidity risk and legal risk, which the accord combines under the title of residual risk. It gives banks a power to review their risk management system.

Pillar 3: Disclosure & Market Discipline

The aim of pillar 3 is to allow market discipline to operate by requiring lenders to publicly provide details of their risk management activities, risk rating processes and risk distributions. It sets out the public disclosures that banks must make that lend greater insight into the adequacy of their capitalisation.

Basel III Accord: Enhanced Risk Management

Basel III was developed in a response to the deficiencies in financial regulation revealed by the global financial crisis. Basel III strengthens bank capital requirements and introduces new regulatory requirements on bank liquidity and bank leverage.

Basel III builds on the Basel I and Basel II and seeks to improve bank ability to deal with financial and economic stress, improve risk management and improve transparency. A focus of Basel III is to foster greater resilience at the individual bank level in order to reduce the risk of system wide shocks. The difference between the total capital requirement of 8.0% and the Tier 1 requirement can be met with Tier 2 capital.